


nicholas road and jeryl lane

by richurro



Series: 500 [6]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, Gender Dysphoria, Genderfluid Josh Dun, M/M, Trans Tyler Joseph, alternative universe, fun times, haha me too, josh shaves tylers head, joshler - Freeform, over 5k words, they cute, uhhh idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 20:29:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18611956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/richurro/pseuds/richurro
Summary: “…Why are you here, Josh?” Tyler deters, popping red and blue into his mouth, not wanting to delve further into the whole Pastor Dun topic.Josh shrugs. “That’s boring. Tell me why you’re here instead.”“I’ll tell you if you tell me,”“Deal,”





	nicholas road and jeryl lane

**Author's Note:**

> 04.14-26.19

Tugging at his collar, Tyler smiles warily, shooting the boy—Mark, he thinks his name is—an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, I actually have plans tonight,” he lies as he does every other Sunday, “Maybe some other time?”

Mark’s expression falls momentarily before softening into something understanding. “Um, yes, of course. Some other time. Have a nice day, Becca.” He smiles politely, walking off without another word.

Tyler cringes at the name, but fakes a smile anyway, waving Mark off.

Just as he thought he was free of the burden of being held captive in this dreadful church, Jenna, a nice girl with long blonde hair that kisses her waist, waltzes over, gently placing a hand on his arm.

“Becca,” she smiles nicely, the name tumbling from her lips in a playful tone, “How’re you doing?”

Ignoring the familiar sensation of hollowing dread in his stomach, Tyler pulls another fake smile for the girl he kinda, sorta, has a crush on. (It could be a crush, if he tried hard enough, but for now he thinks he’ll stick to labeling the feeling he has for Jenna as admiration and nothing much more than that.)

“I’m well, how ‘bout you, Jen?” He replies gently, not wanting to come off as harsh even though he was positively sure he wanted to yell at her. Nothing against Jenna, honest. She’s a kind person, a wonderful person.

But that _name_. He can’t help but feel a whole swirl of emotions crash into him; anger, hurt, and frustration coming at him from all sides, leaving him crunched up in a corner helpless to stop any of it, drowning amidst of this tidal wave of raw feeling.

Then, Jenna giggles. Tyler finds that it does nothing to soothe him over.

“Can’t complain, really. But, uh, well…a few friends and I got permission to have a sleepover at my place tonight. Y’know, Sarah, Hayley, Ashley…would you like to come?” She asks.

_No_ is Tyler’s immediate response to the innocent question. But then, his train of thought runs through a forbidden (and rather devilish) station.

You see, Tyler has been a bit of a dilemma as of late (one that he wouldn’t be free of for another four months) and it’s driving him insane.

It all started when Tyler had been feeling particularly rebellious and overwhelmingly dysphoric one morning. He had stolen a couple of bucks from his mother’s purse and effectively convinced her he had study group after school (although there was no study group on Tuesdays), giving him an one hour gap to sneak into a local barber shop and cut his hair right below his ears.

Two feet of hair was gone in a span of a few minutes, but the whole process had felt like it lasted for a mere three seconds. The experience was wonderful, enlightening even. (He was never _ever_ allowed to cut his hair so dramatically.) He had felt so so good afterward.

Too bad the one hour lecture from his parents practically ruined any and all progress of him finally being able to start feeling comfortable in his body.

His mother had cried hysterically, claiming she had _loved_ his hair, and he was _betraying_ her by chopping it off without her consent. His father had thrown in a good number of slurs into Tyler’s discipline speech, his deep voice homing a cold and abrasive tone.

And Tyler took it. He didn’t care. His mother’s guilt tripping, her outrageous accusations, fell upon deaf ears. His father’s poor choices of words and claims of him “looking like a boy” were duly ignored as Tyler restrained himself from making a snarky comment such as “Good, that’s what I was going for.”

His punishment was house arrest for six months. He isn’t allowed to leave the house without parental supervision or even, Zack’s (his _younger_ brother, for God Sakes). He isn’t allowed in anymore barber shops, and much less near a measly pair of scissors. He isn’t allowed to close his door at night or any other time of day. He isn’t trusted to be alone and is forced into being around one or more family members at all times.

But…maybe tonight could be the first exception in two months.

If it hasn’t hit you yet, what Tyler has insinuated, here’s some insight:

If he simply let a fib pass gently through his lips, he can earn a full day of solace. Jenna was a sweet girl, a _very_ sweet girl, and Tyler is _sure_ to be allowed to stay the night with her. _Especially_ since Jenna was such an active member of their little church and Tyler’s parents valued _nothing_ more than that.

If he accepted and later canceled without his parents knowing, he could be free. This could _work._

“Um, well, I’d love to. But, uh, I’m not so sure about my parents, y’know?” Tyler says convincingly, pouting a bit for good measure.

Jenna pouts back at him. “Oh, that’s too bad. But, if you can, you’re welcome to,”

Tyler purses his lips, trying not to grin. “Hm, maybe…I’ll see what I can do.”

Jenna beams, eyes sparkling in the high sunlight of the morning, like small sapphire gems. “Great!” She smiles wide, throwing herself onto Tyler and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I’ll see you maybe.” She bids goodbye, waving a silver encircled hand.

“See you maybe.” Tyler says back, watching her walk back to the small crowd of people forming in front of the church.

He lets his eyes wander, searching for his parents and siblings between the bunches of other families. He had lost sight of them earlier when he eagerly filed out of the building, not wanting to spend another second inside the suffocating place.

Once he does spot them though, he runs over, excitement bubbling in his veins. The feeling of anticipation fluttering in his stomach is only simmered down when he realizes he’ll have to wait patiently for his parents to cease their conversation with the pastor and his wife.

Thankfully, the pastor takes notice of Tyler’s sudden presence, steering the conversation towards him and unknowingly playing into Tyler’s plan by giving him an opening.

“Why, hello Rebecca. How are you?” He asks politely, smiling with crinkled eyes.

“I’m doing well, Pastor Dun. Good morning, Mrs. Dun,” Tyler greets, ignoring the name.

Mrs. Dun smiles sweetly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Good morning, honey. Will you be attending as well?” She asks, eyebrows lifted expectantly.

“Pardon? Attending what exactly?” Tyler frowns, knitting his eyebrows as he turns to his parents.

“Just a little gathering at Pastor Dun’s home later tonight, are you coming?” His mother replies, subtly shooting him a look. Ah, there it is. The _you have no say in this_ look. Iconic.

“Well, actually, Jenna invited me to a sleepover tonight,” Tyler quips, smiling tightly.

“On a school night?” His father frowns, eyebrows furrowed.

“I was hoping I could go? May I?” Tyler asks in a sugary sweet tone, eyes pleading as he rocks on the backs of his heels, trying to look as innocent as possible.

_Say yes, say yes, say yes._

Tyler’s mother purses her lips, eyes continuously glancing back and forth between him and the Duns, obviously not wanting to reprimand him in front of them. If they weren’t here, she would be ripping one into Tyler for even asking.

“Well…I suppose you could. As long as you’re at school on time tomorrow.” She says sternly.

Tyler almost cheers. “Thank you, ma.”

—

Tyler swings his school bag over his shoulders as he lets himself skip downstairs, _unbelievably_ ready to leave his house unaccompanied for the first time since The Chop. He tugs on the sleeve of his large hoodie, impatiently shifting where he stood near the front door, waiting for his family to appear so they could all head out.

His mother then walks in, pushing in a pair of long dangly earrings. “Alright, let’s get going!” She bellows out, calling to the rest of the family.

Once his father and siblings finally decide to show up, Tyler all but shoves them out the front door. He climbs into the car and practically bounces in his seat as his mother eyes him suspiciously.

Embarrassed and cheeks a warm red, Tyler looks out the window, relaxing his body and dialing back, ecstatic bouncing reduced to a gentle bob of his right leg.

“I’ll text you when the girls get here, when we go to Jenna’s, when we go to bed, and when we go to school in the morning. I’ll call you afterschool too, so you can pick me up,” Tyler lists, smiling convincingly.

His mother raises her eyebrows in surprise as he leans over her seat and smacks a kiss onto her cheek. “Oh, of course, honey. Have a nice time,” she tells him in pleasant delight.

Tyler nods, crawling out of the car and slamming the door shut. “I will! Bye!” He grins, waving as he stands in front of the 24-hour café he had been dropped off at.

The first thing he does once his mother’s car is down the street is fish his phone from the deep pocket of his (which is actually Zack’s) sweatpants. He types up a message and promptly sends the lie to Jenna, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.

_cant make it tonight maybe next time :((_

The automatic vibration his phone provides sends a warm feeling coursing through his body.

_awww :((( of course next time x_

Grinning, Tyler pockets his phone and slowly heads down the opposite side of the street, breathing a delicate sigh of relief. It’s been _so_ long since he’s been out, he hasn’t felt this way in a while. So…calm. And serene.

He strolls down the sidewalk, giving his legs a good free stretch. As he walks, he finds himself unconsciously leaning into the more rural part of town, where tree roots break through the cement of the sidewalk and little bunches of daisies manage to grow through the cracks of the pavement.

He lets a faint smile slip onto his lips when he reaches the corner of Nicholas Road and Jeryl Lane, eyeing the old moss covered structure standing sturdy upon the land.

It’s a small abandoned apartment building, Tyler thinks, a Chicago style one. It probably hasn’t been used since the late 70’s (and that only adds to its charm), but the town council hasn’t really done anything about it. It just sits there, unused and unaffected by anything besides the weather. Either there is no reason to wreck it down, or the council is simply too lazy to do anything about it.

Tyler thinks it’s for sure the latter, since the council _does_ have a bit of a reputation for being lazy. For example, all those damn potholes they refuse to fill. Tyler resents them for that.

But, he also absolutely _loves_ them for leaving the building alone because, like every other teenager, it’s safe to say that Tyler has a bit of an affinity for going places he shouldn't. This _includes_ the crumbling building on Nicholas Road and Jeryl Lane.

Fluttering his eyes shut, Tyler breathes deeply, relishing in the fresh air filling his lungs. He may or may not be currently standing on the ledge of the roof, the tips of his toes dangerously toppling over the edge as he relaxes into the whistling of the wind in his ears.

He squints his eyes open, letting himself admire the blurriness, the _realness_ , of the twinkling stretch of city lights in the distance from behind his eyelashes. From up here, the roof of this building, he can see how the sky scrapers glitter and shine without any regard for the sleepy little towns that surround them. Tyler can’t remember the name of the city, but he’s positive that it must be something that rolls off the tongue easily, something enchanting.

He opens his eyes completely, wide and tearing up from the cold wind. _Wow_. What he would give to live in a big bustling city that never sleeps, a city in which no one knew anyone and you knew no one because it didn’t matter, a city without conservative views, and a city with eccentric, exciting, really _out-there_ characters.

Tyler blinks. What he would give…

His stance then falters gracelessly, his whole body almost shooting forward as he quickly glanced back over his shoulder, holding his arms out to maintain balance. The roof door was being creaked open, its rusty hinges letting out a loud, low moan into the quietness of the night.

Tyler feels a swell of panic inflate in his chest, hitching his breath as he runs through the most impossible possibilities through his head.

What if it was his parents? His brother? The cops? Wait, was he trespassing?…No, there’s no sign or anything…Wait, maybe he missed it? Oh God, he’s going to jail for trespassing, his mother’s going to kill him…

Suddenly, all his ridiculous worries are melted back into simple “What-ifs” as he gets a look of what was opening the door. It’s just a kid around his age, grunting quietly as he pushes the heavy door open.

Tyler keeps silent, watching him with furrowed brows. The kid then spots him, eyes widening just a bit as he grips the box in his hand.

“Oh, hey,” he greets casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to spot someone expectantly standing on the ledge of a building. Tyler blinks in surprise when the kid strides over, plopping himself down next to him, his legs dangling off the edge as he sticks his hand into the box and brings it to his mouth. It’s a cereal box, Tyler notices.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” The kid asks, looking straight forward towards the blinding city lights. Tyler looks back at them too.

“…No,” he replies.

The silence that follows is calm, albeit a bit awkward, but Tyler doesn’t find himself hating it as much as he thought he would considering he and a total stranger were sharing his safe space. What he _does_ find himself doing is sneaking little glances to his left, at the kid with fading blue hair who has been munching on cereal ever since he got here.

As Tyler reaches into his pocket to check the time, the kid speaks up again.

“You weren’t gonna jump, were you?” He asks nonchalantly, sticking a red fruit loop between his lips as he spoke. Tyler bites the inside of his cheek, mentally vowing to not make eye contact. This vow is shattered when Tyler sighs in defeat, scooting back on his heels and retreating from the ledge, making a show in sitting down beside the kid, throwing him a sheepish look.

“Nah,” Tyler answers, his right shoulder rising and falling in a careless manner.

“Oh,” the kid muses, popping another fruit loop in his mouth. Blue. He’s silent for a second, as if he were carefully deliberating what to say next. But Tyler expects something more…I don’t know…wise?

Instead, he says, “You thought about it?”

Tyler frowns. “Of course I thought about it,” he borderline snaps. Well, yeah… _Duh_. What kind of person _stands on the ledge of a building_ without thinking about _that?_

“Oh.”

“Oh,” Tyler mocks as he rolls his eyes, though the small smile on his lips makes it obvious he’s not serious, no matter how hard he tries to be. The kid picks up on his humor, smiling back with squinted eyes.

“Hey, what time is it?” The kid then asks. And there goes another fruit loop.

Tyler fishes out his phone again, checking the time as he did barely a few minutes ago. “Uh, eight fifty six. Why?”

“Ugh,” the kid groans loudly, dramatically snapping his head up and looking to the sky. Tyler’s gaze falls onto the pale skin pulled over his adam’s apple and tries not to swallow.

“Dinner’s not even _close_ to being over,” the kid complains, as if Tyler knew exactly what he was talking about.

Tyler furrows his eyebrows. What?

“Why did you come onto a roof of an old building with a box of fruit loops, of all things?” Tyler suddenly blurts, the question having built up in his throat ever since the kid sat beside him.

“Depends. Why did _you_ come onto a roof of an old building with a _backpack,_ of all things?”

Tyler blinks at him. “Touché,” he says, giving the kid the side-eye.

“Want some?” The kid asks, holding out the opening of the cereal box toward Tyler.

“…Might as well,” Tyler sighs, sticking his hand in the box. He retrieves a few loops with a crinkle of a plastic bag, pressing them to his lips. He eats them one by one, like the kid has been doing.

Yellow. Blue. Green.

“The chips are for the kids, so I took the cereal,” the kid responds finally. Again, as if Tyler had any idea to what he was referencing to.

Tyler nods anyway.

A silence blankets them yet again, only this time it’s much more comfortable than before. Though, another question itches in Tyler’s throat. As he parts his lips to ask, the kid says something.

“Pronouns?”

It takes a second for Tyler to figure out what he was talking about, but once he does, a blush warms his cheeks. Oh. He’s never been asked that before. Oh…

“He/him.” He almost stutters.

The kid doesn’t notice, only nodding, smiling. “Cool. He/him, they/them, whatever,”

Tyler bites his lip to stop his grin from splitting his face. Wow… _wow._  That felt _so_ good to say. He. Him. He. Him. He! Him!

“I’m Josh,” the kid says, holding out his unoccupied hand for Tyler to take. Tyler pauses in surprise, but eagerly takes Josh’s warm hand in his.

“Tyler. Tyler Joseph,” He says, giving Josh’s hand a firm squeeze. Of course, he could’ve stopped at _Tyler_ , but he just _had_ to add his last name. Tyler Joseph. That’s his _name._ He’s _Tyler Joseph._ Tyler Joseph…

“Well, in that case. I’m Josh. Josh Dun.” Josh laughs as the gears in Tyler’s head begin to turn.

“Wait, like Pastor Dun?” Tyler asks, a knit in his brow. Josh takes back his hand and promptly picks out more loops from his box.

“Yep, that’s my good ‘ol pops,” Josh grumbles sarcastically, stuffing his mouth as he ducks his head down.

Tyler frowns in confusion. He didn’t know Pastor Dun had a son his age (as he was assuming Josh was). He’s met his family before. There was Jordan, Ashley, and Abigail. He’s never once heard Pastor Dun mention Josh.

“But…I thought Pastor Dun had one son?”

“Yeah, to him he does.” Josh scoffs, looking to the lights. Tyler grabs more of his cereal.

“…Why are you here, Josh?” Tyler deters, popping red and blue into his mouth, not wanting to delve further into the whole Pastor Dun topic.

Josh shrugs. “That’s boring. Tell me why you’re here instead.”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me,”

“Deal,”

Tyler lets out a huff. “Is it too edgy to say it’s ‘cuz my parents kinda suck?”

Josh looks over at Tyler, a soft look on his face. “Nah,” he admits, chuckling lowly, “My parents kinda suck too,”

Tyler finds himself smiling at Josh’s answer. “That why you’re here?” He asks gently.

Josh nods, humming. “Yep. They’re doing this dinner thing with some church friends. My dad asked me to step out once they arrived so now I’m here,” he responds, having fell into Tyler’s trap of answering the question.

“With a box of cereal,”

“With a box of cereal,” Josh confirms, “They always say the chips are for the kids, so I took the cereal.”

Tyler looks down to the browning patch of grass on the ground, eyes defocusing. “Why did he want you to leave?” He asks quietly, not wanting to come off as offensive. To his surprise, Josh jumps at the question.

“‘Cuz I’m me, basically. He’s conservative as hell and can’t get it through his pea-sized brain that I’m one: not straight, and two: not cis. So like, he can’t have me around his church buddies, apparently.” Josh rambles, moving his hands for extra flare.

“Oh,”

“Yeah…What about you?”

Tyler looks up and smiles sheepishly, shrugging. “Same thing, I guess. It’s a long story,”

Josh sends him a look, raising an eyebrow as another fruit loop passes his lips. “I’ve got time,”

Tyler bites the inside of his cheek, mind bouncing back and forth between his options. He lets out a sigh and abruptly decides to pull his hoodie off his body, revealing the camisole top that barely does anything to cover the small swell of his breasts.

“So, I’m trans, right?” Tyler starts, sensing Josh’s eyes on him. His face is warm compared to the cool wind sending shivers down his spine, his exposed skin breaking out in goosebumps.

Tyler buries down any embarrassment behind his need to rant and continues with his tale. He tells Josh about The Chop, his parents, and how he managed to trick them into letting him leave the house. When he’s done, Josh doesn’t say anything besides “That sucks,” while nodding in understanding. Tyler finds himself practically swooning.

Because Josh _gets_ it. He gets the suffocating dysphoria, he gets the feeling of utter _dread_ when your pronouns aren’t respected, he gets not being able to be yourself around the people you love. He _gets_ it.

“Is that what you want?” Josh suddenly asks, scooting closer to Tyler, their thighs pressing together. Tyler feels a shock course through his body, a burning sensation erupting from where their shoulders knocked into each other.

“What?” Tyler stumbles, attempting to look Josh in the eye. Instead, his stare lands on his temple, where his blue hair falls in a wave, softly curling around the top of his ear.

“To cut your hair. Is that something you wanna do?” Josh clarifies, raising an eyebrow. Tyler pauses. What did he mean?

“Well, yeah, of course,” he admits, bringing a hand to the nape of his neck. His cut two months ago hadn’t even been that short (which was the only reason why he had been so annoyed when his parents told him off about it), and it had already grown out a bit. By the time six months was over, it would probably be down to his shoulders. So yeah, Tyler was absolutely _dying_ to cut it again.

“It’s settled then,” Josh announces, clapping his hands once as he swings his legs back over the ledge, and hopping off, standing in front of Tyler.

“We’re shaving your head.”

Tyler gapes. “I— _what?_ We’re _what_ now?”

“Shaving your head,” Josh repeats, grinning wide. Tyler quickly scrambles off the ledge and stands in front of him, pleasantly finding that he stood a few inches taller.

“ _Why?_ ” He asks.

“Why _not_ , right?! No offense, but _fuck_ your parents! You want this, right?!” Josh hypes, eyebrows raised high and pupils blown.

“I-I guess—well, _yeah_ ,” Tyler stutters, his voice cracking.

“Then let's do it!”

—

Tyler finds out that Josh is _definitely_ one of those cool, outgoing, eccentric people he’s been looking for; he’s just really _different_ from most people he’s met before. A _good_ different. Full of _surprises_ , that kid.

With a palm over his mouth, Tyler snickers, quietly watching Josh as the blue haired boy himself ran up and down the candy aisle they were standing in, occasionally getting judgemental glances from other customers.

“What else? Gum? Oh my god, Ty, we should get gum,” Josh gasps, eyes wide as he stares at all the colorful packaging. Tyler joins him, staring at all their flavor choices.

“Fruity. Minty gum sucks,” Tyler says, pointing out a watermelon flavored one.

Josh’s jaw drops dramatically. “Dude, minty gum is good. Spearmint, wintermint, peppermint,”

“If you want mint, just get mints,” Tyler shrugs in retaliation.

“Minty gum is good, you’re just mean.”

Tyler rolls his eyes, holding his hands up in a defensive manner, grinning. That was something he liked about Josh: being really laid-back and easy to playfully banter with.

“Fine, get your gross gum. But get me a fruity one,” Tyler says. Josh groans and scrunches his nose, but grabs both packs of gum anyway.

“Okay, what is this? Like seven bucks? Now—now we gotta get the—the thing—the—the shaving thing—the—”

“Hair clippers?” Tyler offers, bemused.

Josh nods, pointing at Tyler. “Yeah, that’s it! C’mon, we gotta get ‘em!” He grins before running off, forcing Tyler to jog after him.

“Wait, where would they even be?” Josh frowns, stopping at the end of the aisle as Tyler accidentally bumps into his back.

“Uh, hair care, maybe?”

“Oh! Great idea!”

Then Josh is running again, sneaking between other customers and their carts and checking aisle after aisle for their desired item. Tyler feels a spark of giddiness erupt in his chest as his schoolbag thumps against his back and he follows after Josh, quietly chuckling at his antics.

“Ooo! Is it these?!” Josh gasps, practically squishing his face on the glass of the display case, “Why are they behind glass?”

“Uh, safety precautions?” Tyler sighs, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Did Josh work out? Or was Tyler just _that_ out of shape?

“Oh,” Josh hums, stepping back, “that makes sense,”

Tyler nods in agreement, trying to slow his breathing, making sure that he didn’t sound like he was dying after sprinting after Josh. (Except, he kinda was. It’s been so long since he’s exercised. And it was because of his house arrest, obviously.)

“Okay, babe. Which one d’ya like?” Josh smiles, fingers smudging swiggles into the glass. Tyler ignores the flip of his stomach when Josh called him the pet name and tries to focus on the task at hand.

“The cheapest one, I guess?”

“Boo! That’s no fun, Ty,”

“J, I’m poor as fuck,”

“You have like, fifty bucks on you,”

Tyler rolls his eyes, pointing at a box. “That one’s fifty bucks, we’re getting that one,” he declares sternly.

“Fine. How do we get it out?”

“Ask a worker to open it?” Tyler says in a semi-condescending tone, raising an eyebrow as he throws Josh an _obviously_ look.

Josh pouts. “You’re a meanie.” He tells Tyler before turning on his heel and walking off into the next aisle in search of a helper. Tyler ducks his head in a snicker, a smile settling on his lips.

He likes this. Being with Josh. He’s never had a friend he could be himself around (as in Tyler, not Rebecca), much less a _guy_ friend (or in this case, a more masculine presenting friend). He’s always had to stay away from guys because his parents were, y’know, _themselves_. But this was a nice change of pace. _This_ was nice.

“Okay, so we want this one ‘cuz we’re gonna fuck up his hair and it’s gonna be great,” Josh announces while pointing at Tyler and stepping back into the aisle, a worker walking right beside him.

“Oh, okay, cool,” The worker replies casually, going over to unlock the display case. Tyler lights up at Josh’s use of the correct pronoun. His hair. It’s _his_ hair. Not hers. _His._

“Sick. Thanks, man.” Josh smiles, grabbing the hair clippers from the worker’s hand. The worker locks up the case and smiles back.

“No problem. Have fun with those,” he bids, walking out of the aisle.

“Heck, yeah! Let’s go buy these suckers!” Josh exclaims, shaking the box. He flops an arm around Tyler’s shoulders, giving him a comforting squeeze as he leads the taller boy to the self checkout lane.

Tyler bites back a squeak, a hot pink warmth pooling in his cheeks. _Oh_. Scratch more masculine presenting _friend_ and make that _crush._

_That’s stupid,_ Tyler thinks. _You can’t have a crush on Josh already._

Tyler sneaks a glance at said boy and can’t help but duck his head down right after, smiling like an idiot. Josh hadn’t been doing anything special, he was just scanning the items they’ve accumulated. Literally _nothing_ special.

But alas, Tyler was _undeniably_ in like with this kid already.

“Okay, I have like, ten bucks on me, I need your fifty,” Josh then says, fingers fiddling with the screen on the machine. He holds out his hand without sparing a glance at Tyler.

Tyler snorts, reaching into his pocket and smacking his fifty into Josh’s awaiting palm. “I knew you were only with me for my money,” he comments playfully.

Josh shoots him a smirk and Tyler feels his entire body tingle. “But of course, sugar. Why else?”

Tyler barks out a laugh as Josh sticks the bills into the slot and quickly taps away on the screen. “Ah, success!” He exclaims as he’s granted two dollars and seventy five cents in change.

“I want my gum,” Tyler says as Josh manages to stuff everything into one plastic bag.

“And I want a boyfriend,” Josh retorts, handing over the fruity gum package anyway. Tyler laughs and immediately bites into the plastic, freeing his three packs of watermelon gum.

“Thoo bath,” Tyler says, the plastic caught between his teeth muffling his words. He spits it out and opens one of his packs of gum, sticking a piece into his mouth.

Josh sticks out his tongue and does the same, ripping into his gum and shoving a strip past his lips. “What now?” He asks, raising an eyebrow as they both make their way out of the store.

Tyler holds up a finger and tries to blow a bubble with his gum, sputtering and failing miserably. Josh giggles and tries to blow one too, the white gum slowly expanding into a large bubble. Tyler pops it with his finger and it sticks to Josh’s lips as he pouts.

“Back to the building, I guess.”

—

After a brief walk of shame back to the store to retrieve batteries, Tyler and Josh both make their way up the crumbling steps of the building, collectively pushing through the roof door because “This is too heavy, Josh! Help me!”

“Okay, let’s do this!” Josh grins as he sits down on the ledge, already messing with the box of hair clippers. Tyler chuckles a bit nervously, crossing his legs beneath him as he sits down in front of Josh, leaning back into his legs.

“Why do I feel like I’m going to cry?” Tyler wonders out loud as he rips into the pack of batteries they had bought.

“Maybe ‘cuz you’re ‘bouta look good as shit and your tiny little brain can’t handle it,” Josh says, ruffling Tyler’s hair affectionately. Tyler blushes deeply, suddenly glad it was too dark for Josh to see him.

“Seriously though,” Josh then murmurs when Tyler goes quiet, “it’s gonna look great, Ty. Don’t worry,”

Tyler closes his eyes and cranes his head upward towards the stars. “My parents are gonna kill me,”

“So what?” Josh says. Tyler can hear him messing with the now free hair clippers. “You’ll die happy. You’ll die Tyler,”

Okay, that’s it. If Josh keeps this up, Tyler _will_ fall in love with the bastard.

Their conversation then melts away, the quiet humming of the crickets down below filling the silence. Tyler finds himself relaxing into Josh, breathing slowly in content.

No words are exchanged as Josh prepares the cheap-ish hair clippers, only soft featherlight touches as he silently asks for the batteries, unknowingly making Tyler’s arm to break into bumps, pleasant shivers slipping down his spine.

Tyler hands them over and their fingers gently linger for a second or two on each other's skin. Josh inserts the batteries into the hair clippers, flicking it on immediately after doing so. It rumbles to life, a low buzzing sound piercing into the night.

Tyler hears Josh hum in satisfaction at the lively buzzing. He then shivers like earlier as Josh places a warm palm on the wind bitten skin of the back of his neck, tilting his head. His fingers twitch when Josh suddenly runs the hair clippers over his head in a stripe, starting at his hairline and back to his nape.

Tyler lets out a deep sigh as Josh runs a hand through his hair, repeating the process all throughout his head. He bites his lip as he focuses on the feeling of Josh’s knuckles brushing against his neck when the blue haired boy starts to work near his ears and nape. He finds himself feeling lighter and lighter as more and more hair falls down onto his shirt.

Suddenly, the buzzing stops and it's only now Tyler realizes his eyes were still closed.

“I’m done,” Josh whispers, his breath tickling Tyler’s neck as he gently brushes away the fallen hairs from his shoulders. Tyler shivers again, opening his eyes and blinking to adjust to the dim golden lighting emitting from the tall streetlamp near the building.

He runs a hand over his head, feeling the neatly buzzed hair under his palm, prickling his skin. From the looks of it, Josh had done a pretty good job keeping it all even.

“…Feels weird,” Tyler says airly before barking out a laugh, “… _Jesus Christ,_ ”

Josh giggles and stands up from where he sat, opting to sit next to Tyler, elbow perched on his knee with his cheek resting into his hand. “You look hot,” he admits, smiling shamelessly.

Tyler laughs again, face flushing as he shakes his head in disbelief. Josh nods. “No, really. It looks really good. You look more you,”

Before Tyler could properly think about his actions, he’s cupping Josh’s cheek with a cold hand, quickly leaning in and pressing a soft kiss onto his lips. To his surprise, Josh smiles and instantly reciprocates, hand reaching over to gently touch his hip. Any panic bubbling inside Tyler’s stomach fizzes away, a light wave of content falling onto him.

The kiss is innocent and close mouthed, thirty seconds at most, but Tyler can still feel his lips tingle even after they pull away.

“Thank you,” Tyler whispers, hand still cradling Josh’s face.

Josh smiles. “For what?”

Tyler shakes his head. “You know what,”

Josh leans in, pressing his forehead to Tyler’s. Tyler feels his heart skip a beat, chest tightening. “I must’ve forgotten, you’re gonna have to remind me,”

Tyler grins. “How?”

“Hm,” Josh pretends to think, “kiss me again?”

“That doesn’t make sense,”

“Just do it.”

So he does.

**Author's Note:**

> sjksjks this took so long to write, we stan a procrastination king!!


End file.
